


How to get away with murder

by FrerardCake



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), DangerWho, Doctor Who, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-16
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-15 12:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7223152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrerardCake/pseuds/FrerardCake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“You see… You must be lying… Because my monitor said you were born in 1999” The Doctor said, turning the screen to him “December 31st of the year 1999 in New Jersey to be exact” He stepped up, closer to the boy, looking him up and down “Why are you lying to me”</p><p>(…)</p><p>“The question is… How did a baby travel 2000 years into the future?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Something old, something new, someone running away and a box is blue

**Author's Note:**

> The very beginning is a bit dramatic

_Every ounce of my body aches with the dull recollection of the fact I lost you. And everything makes me remember I will have to go on, missing you or not, liking you or not. That is the hardest thing to have ever happened to me. And I have seen a lot._

That morning, Gerard woke up with the metallic taste in his mouth and the burn in the pit of his stomach. His vision was blurred and his muscles ached. Everything right now was aching, specially his heart.

_We used to do these things we called the death date. We would go to railroads and sit close enough to the trains to have our coffee spilled but not enough to be killed. It had been my idea when we first started. She used to say I had this kinky thing for death that always got her hot._

_It did get her hot though…_

_So a day before she had picked the place. She got us a bottle of whiskey and coffee. She knew exactly how I liked my coffee… Strong, with sugar and a shot of whiskey._

_I still remember every single time she made me a drink in the morning before school. I’d park my car outside her house and get out to greet her at the door. We liked to pretend we were married and she’d give me my coffee and my lunch. Then she’d drive, because she never liked it when I drank and drove._

_Where was I? Oh, yes, she chose that train line. We set up our bedspread on the floor and grabbed our snacks, put on some music and just watched the trees and the rocks and the insects and the birds. It was peaceful._

_I didn’t even see her looking at her watch._

_I got a cigarette and laid back. I was drunk then. I’m almost always drunk. She got on top of me then, trying to get my attention. “Baby. Baby come with me for a walk, c’mon” She said before stealing my cigarette._

_She was wearing that gorgeous red plaid skirt and a tank top, even though it was probably around 50 degrees. “I wish you would come with me”_

_She was asking if I wanted to die with her._

_I don’t remember hearing the train approaching… I was watching her dance around, jumping from rock to rock, letting out the smoke with a smile on her red lips. Red lipstick. It never stained anything I wore._

_She blew me a kiss and stopped by the big rock “Oh. Gerard? Don’t forget I smoke reds” And that’s when I heard the train. And that’s when she jumped. And that’s when I screamed._

Gerard closed his eyes at the breakfast table. His mother was standing right across from him. She didn’t dare look at her son but he didn’t blame her. He was a coward and too slow to pick on what had happened. How could she not blame him for that.

It was Lindsey.

“You do know that her funeral is today right? So try not to ruin it for everyone and go sober” Donna said in a rasp tone, pushing her coffee mug to the center of the table before getting up and getting her purse “Sober”

Gerard ran a hand through his dark hair, almost as if he was trying to shake the haze away from his mind. A glass of whiskey wouldn’t hurt. It was cold. It was just to warm him up.

He grabbed the leftover coffee and went upstairs to his room, getting a bottle from under the loose floorboard in his closet and filling the rest of the mug with his desk, watching the way the torn to hell cover of his journal contrasted against the light wood.

Everything reminded him of her. The cigarette he was lighting, the stickers on his journal’s cover, the color of his desk, plaid, punk, red, wine… Even the weather.

_It feels like she lied to me all along. It feels like all she ever did came down to this moment here…_

_She took a piece of me with her._

_I haven’t been to school. I have barely said a word and fuck all of this if you think any of this was worth it._

_Fuck you._

He pushed back from his desk, taking a long drag off his cigarette and then a drink off the mug. He knew it was no use sulking in this bedroom. No use writing down how he felt anymore.

She wouldn’t come and open his curtains, rolling her eyes. She wouldn’t ask to read what he wrote just to get some insight of why he was feeling down this week. She would never do those things again. He would never drink good coffee again.

Or kiss those lips.

He clenched his fist, smashing the cigarette in his hands and letting the remains drop to the floor. The grip of the hand holding the mug was so tight he thought it would break and the glass would puncture the soft skin of his palm and the coffee and whiskey would start an infection.

He stepped on the small fire starting on the carpet and finished his drink, sitting down at the foot of his bed, hands manically rubbing his face.

So he ran away.

Three days into the woods and he came face to face with a blue box. Too out of place but at the same time not. There was a light on it and it said police, so he figured it could have been something someone left there during some war or something.

It was starting to rain anyway, so he went for the door, sighing as he saw it was locked. Of course it was. It always was.

“Hello” He heard a voice coming from behind him and a man with white hair walked up to the door, opening it with a key “What are you doing”

“Why are you Scottish” Was the first thing that came to Gerard’s mouth “Forget it. Is this yours? I could use a place to hide from the rain”  

“What rain?” The man asked, looking around and just then noticing they were both starting to get wet “Oh yes, this rain. Here” He said, taking an umbrella from inside his jacket and handing it to Gerard “You are welcome. Now bye”

The man quickly disappeared inside the box and Gerard rolled his eyes, finding a tree to stand under and opening the umbrella. He just sat there then, watching the box with curiosity, or maybe he was just bored.

A few minutes later the man peeked his head out of the door, he was furrowing his brows and looking Gerard up and down “Boy, what year is this?”

“4016” He said as if it was obvious. It was obvious, and weird that that man didn’t know. Maybe he was old and forgot.

He man sighed, stepping out of the box and in the rain, tasting the water “Oh yes… What a beautiful winter this will be. You should go home boy”

“I’m sort of in the process of moving…” He said, scratching the back of his neck “Wait what do you mean this winter will be beautiful?”

“Isn’t it funny, I’m in the process of moving all the time” He smiled, walking over to him and looking into Gerard’s eyes “I’m The Doctor, nice to meet you”

“Gerard” He said simply, feeling slightly worried now. His basic instincts telling him to run.

“I’m bored. Would you like to come with me? I have a vacancy” He smiled, making Gerard quickly stand up and look at the box then the man, his eyes huge.

“No, thanks!” He said quickly, taking a few steps back “I-I should get going now… Have fun in your… Hum… Box”

The Doctor looked back at the TARDIS then the boy and gasped, shaking his head “Oh no! This is not what it looks like! You see I’m a time traveler and I’m usually accompanied by someone, normally British, but now I have no one travelling with me and humans are essential for time travel! They take the boredom out of it! You seem to be in search of an adventure!”

Gerard had stopped then, just watching the man speak. He was insane probably and Gerard was probably going to get killed by an old man calling himself Doctor and claiming to be a time traveler, in the woods, with a blue box and no one would ever find his body. This was such a great week.

“Err… Doctor… I’m fine but thanks for the invitation…” He said, closing the umbrella and holding it out to the man “I really have to get going”

“Please stay” The Doctor sighed in defeat, the slight sparkle of joy he had in his eyes fading away at the boy’s words “It’s raining. You can come inside for some tea maybe. You’ll love it inside”

“I don’t think we both fit comfortably inside…” He said, glancing at the box again. Maybe this was just a homeless dude who lived in a box in the woods and talked to run away teenagers. He could be nice or a murderer. Maybe he actually had tea. But Gerard was wet and starting to get worried about getting sick and die in the middle of the woods, or worse, wave his books melt because of the rain.

“Trust me. It’s bigger on the inside” He said, stepping through the door “C’mon boy”

Gerard took in a deep breath and stepped closer to the box slowly, peaking inside before walking in. Of course, as he saw the control room instead of wood, he passed out.

“Finally you are waking up!” He heard a voice calling out from somewhere.

Gerard sat up quickly, surprised as he looked around the room he was in. It had not been a dream it seemed “Oh my… What the fuck!?” He gasped, standing up and looking around, running over to where the Doctor was.

“No one ever said those exact words before… Funny” He shrugged, sipping his tea “So _Gerard_ … What were you doing in the middle of the woods in 4016 and not home where you should be”

“Sorry… I ran away…” He started, looking around the room, never directly at the Doctor “I… I know I should be home but… I just couldn’t stand my mother”

The Doctor frowned, standing up and getting his sonic glasses “You can cut the acting boy… I know who you are”

He turned to face the Doctor, frowning at his sunglasses “Really man, this shit is like… Ancient. Before the sun broke”

The Doctor took his glasses off, frowning at them then at the boy standing in front of him. This wasn’t possible at all. Something wasn’t matching here.

“How can you be seventeen in 4016 when you were older in the past…”

Gerard raised an eyebrow, watching the Doctor deep in thought “I was born in 3999” He said, chuckling “You see… That was seventeen years ago”

“Yes! But you were older 2000 years ago!” He exclaimed, running up a set of stairs and looking through some books.

Gerard took a sit by the console, watching the white haired man, the Doctor walk around and mumble to himself something again and again. Odd man.

“If you are a time traveler, maybe you got me mistaken for someone…-“

“Never. You see I could be mistaken but the sonic glasses never would. I don’t have a lot of American friends either”

He opened a book where the picture of a man with bright red hair standing next to three other man stood. He seemed happy and an awful lot like the boy playing in the spinning chair by the console at the moment.

“Do you have a nickname?” The Doctor asked, closing the book.

Gerard shook his head “Gee. That’s it”

“Something is wrong…” The Doctor shook his head, disappearing from Gerard’s view before popping back on it a few seconds later “Because you are not supposed to be here… Or maybe you weren’t supposed to be there…”

“Man… You are making absolutely no sense right now, you know that right?”

“When is your birthday?” The Doctor asked, flipping some switches on the control panel.

“I have two. April 9th, 4000 is when I was adopted and December 31st 3999” He chuckled “I’m technically sixteen though, but I like to count my age from the time I was conceived, not born, so I am seventeen”

“You see… You must be lying… Because my monitor said you were born in 1999” The Doctor said, turning the screen to him “December 31st of the year 1999 in New Jersey to be exact” He stepped up, closer to the boy, looking him up and down “Why are you lying to me”

“W-w-what? I’m not” He said, wheeling himself back a bit “Your computer must have me confused with someone”

**Status, deceased.**

The Doctor glanced back at the screen then Gerard. It said the baby was dead indeed. On the night he was born he went missing so after a few years people just assumed he was dead somewhere.

Of course “You were never found because you were in the future!” The Doctor chuckled, shaking his head “Clever baby! But how?” He turned to Gerard, tilting his head to the side “How did a baby a few hours old time travel”

“I should get going…” Gerard said casually, getting up slowly and going to where his backpack was “Nice talking to you, man”

“Wait! You can’t go! Aren’t you even a little bit curious?” The Doctor sighed, running over to the boy “Did you ever feel different? Were you sick a lot as a kid? Did you have any weird memorabilia with you when you were adopted?”

Gerard stopped, turning around to face the man standing a few feet above him, grinning “You did get sick a lot didn’t you?”

“All the time… The doctors said it was like I was missing years of immunology… They said I had a disease that made my defenses’ genetic memory weak or something… I had to take a shitton of vaccines”

“And there was a little blanket with you wasn’t it? Your mother used to say it was a relic? Really old? Probably something your biological mother wanted you to have as it was maybe a family object or something? Something no one but you liked the smell?”

The boy frowned, slowly making his way up the stairs again “Where are you trying to go…”

“You got sick a lot because you didn’t have 2000 years of immunological system passed through you through generations… Because you were born 2000 years before the time you were raised…” The Doctor said, smirking as the boy stood right next to him “The question is… How did a baby travel 2000 years into the future?”


	2. Promise

Gerard woke up in one of the many rooms of the TARDIS, confused at first as to where he was before the memory from the day before came back to his mind. The Doctor, the time machine, the “you shouldn’t be in the future” and then Lindsey.

“Fuck…”He sighed, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. He was craving a smoke and a drink wouldn’t be bad at the moment either.

He shook his head and got up, going to get clean clothes in his bag and rolling his eyes once he realized he didn’t have clean clothes anymore.

Gerard shrugged it off and went back to the bed, frowning once he couldn’t find his clothes from the day before. He was literally standing in his underwear inside a time machine with an alien who looked like an old men. Saying it like that made him question how real all of this really was.

He left the room and started down the hallways back to the control room where the Doctor was playing something that sounded a lot like old rock and roll.

“Did you see my clothes?” He called out, trying to be heard over the music.

The Doctor stopped playing and looked at the boy, eyes going wide “You are naked”

“I’m wearing boxers. Did you see my clothes?” He rolled his eyes, noticing the faint smell of coffee coming from somewhere down those hallways.

“Yes. They were stinking. I put them in the wash, get something from the closet. Down the hall to the left’ He pointed in the general direction and that seemed to be it because he started playing again, the song sounding so familiar yet so weird in Gerard’s ear.

He didn’t have a problem finding the closet, though it was more of a room filled with piles and piles of clothes than what his mother(or any person that is) would call a closet.

 

 

He was dressed in black skinny pants that were of a insanely classic model of jeans and a simple black t-shirt with some really cool rips on it and on to his second cup of coffee when he went back to the control room, part of him was sad that the Doctor wasn’t playing anymore.

“Do you have a date?” He asked, sitting on the stairs and sipping his coffee.

“You’re too young for me” The Doctor said, glancing at Gerard, just in time to watch him roll his eyes.

“For us to go back… You know” He gestured something that in his mind meant something along the lines ‘to the past when I was born or something’, but in real life it was more of a simple dismissive wave.

“Yes. We are going to 1999 like I said. It’s when you left, it’s when we have to go. Are you ready now or do you need another 16 hours of sleep and four cups of coffee?”

Gerard took in a deep breath and nodded at the Doctor, finishing his coffee and holding on the railing “Back in time we go”

 

 

Gerard looked up and down the street they were in, curious about pretty much everything he saw, specially the cars parked on the streets. On the streets.

“This is so cool” He walked over to the Doctor, not really paying attention to the man’s worried expression “Look! The cars are actually on the floor and they have wheels! Those things are called wheels right? They are round like circles… Gosh this is so classic” He chuckled, going up to one of the cars.

“Get in the TARDIS” The Doctor almost mumbled, pulling Gerard back slightly “Gerard… We are not in 1999… Get in the TARDIS”

“How far off?” He frowned, looking at the sky.

“Helium wars”

He stopped, glaring at the older man and shaking his head violently as he pulled him by the arm, running to the TARDIS.

“You are 13 years off!?” He screamed once they got in the TARDIS, the Doctor leaning against the doors, deep in thought, ignoring the younger man yelling.

He walked away from them, circling around the console for a few moments while Gerard caught his breath “The fucking Helium Wars? Why don’t you just throw me with a tree, a bottle of water and the Brazilian flag in the middle of World War III” He groaned, shaking his head “Just spin the thingy and make it go woosh so we can get the hell out of here”

“We are now part of the events” He shook his head, walking over to Gerard “I really messed up there” He sighed, stepping away from him before turning to face him again “You know about this war, yes? What happens?”

Gerard nodded, shrugging as he tried to glance out of the little TARDIS windows, shaking his head and turning to the monitors on the console “Same old. Then BLI then pig wars then the lost history until the solar flares. What date is it? Because a white car is parking right outside the TARDIS and it looks like they are not our friends…” He pointed at the monitor, stepping out of the way so the Doctor could see what he was talking about.

The older man shook his head, spinning around a couple of times before he came to a stop, a smirk on his face. He eyed the younger man up and down and took in a deep breath “Well… We’ll have to go with them”

Gerard stepped away, shaking both his hands and his head no “You have got to be kidding me. They were like really evil or some shit! I’m not going out there! They are torturers and killers and… Fuck you I’m not going there”

They heard a couple knocks on the door, the Doctor glancing between Gerard, the image of the masked man in the monitor and the TARDIS’ doors “Please. Trust me. You’ll be okay. I promise I’ll take you home as soon as possible. But we really gotta go before they get in here”

“How are they going to get in here? I thought this thing was safe” Gerard pointed out.

“Well… They could just open the door you know…” He smiled awkwardly.

Gerard ran a hand through his hair as he nodded “Fine… Not like I have another choice” He took his phone out of his pocket along with his credits card and left it on the console “I imagine I should probably leave anything from the future in here”

“Yes, you should” The Doctor said already at the door, unlocking it and waiting for Gerard to get closer before stepping out “Hello! How can I help you?”

“You are not a registered citizen of Battery City, please come with us” The one to the right said, stepping to the side so the Doctor and Gerard could follow him to the car.

“But I am, there’s probably a mistake” He said calmly, looking for the psychic paper, holding it out to them “See”

“The Doctor and companion is not a registered citizen of Battery City. This young man is not a registered citizen of Battery City. Come with us. This is the final warning”

They drew their guns, pointing them at Gerard and the Doctor. Gerard recognized them as early models of blasters, he knew they were probably called pistols or something and they had a complete different functioning to the ones he was used to. But anywhere in time and space, guns were always guns and he knew not to mess with it.

He bit his lip, looking at the Doctor, waiting for him to just do something.

The Doctor sighed, following the Draculoids to the car, Gerard following right behind him “I don’t like guns” He mentioned, feeling the cool metal against the side of his head.

“You will remain silent” They said, getting Gerard and the Doctor inside their car.

 

 

Gerard woke up with the sun on his face, his back and head hurting like hell and a male voice in the distance, gradually getting closer. He sat up quickly, realizing he had been lying on the floor with nothing but a jacket as a pillow (such a change from the TARDIS’ amazing mattress).

“Hello…” He said softly. All he could remember was the Doctor and the TARDIS and men in white… Something was familiar about the men in white but he couldn’t quite place it “Doctor?” He called out a bit louder, getting up and feeling a sharp pain on his head, his vision blurring for a few seconds before he could start walking.

He noticed he was in an office. By the looks of it, it had been abandoned for a while now.

He didn’t have much time to walk around and try to figure out where he was because a man walked in the room, making him jump and grab one of the dusty paper weights from the desk. It was a bearded man on a wheelchair, followed by a skinny… person in roller skates. That was classic as hell.

“Are you okay?” The man asked, moving closer to him “You suffered pretty bad trauma, you shouldn’t be up”

“Where’s the Doctor, who are you and where am I?”

“He’s the Doctor” The person said, sliding graciously over to the desk and sitting down on it with a sweet smile “Doctor Death Defying. Doctor D for short. I’m News a gogo” They said softly “We were on a run and got into a clap with a couple of Dracs in downtown L.A. You were in the car and got hurt so we brought you home with us. You didn’t seem like the BLI type”

“What about the man I was with?” He frowned, forcing his memory a bit “We were… Doing something… In a TARDIS… or is it the TARDIS…” He sat back down on the floor, starting to get dizzy “his name is The Doctor”

“I’m sorry, he’s in a plastic overcoat now” Dr. D said, holding an instrument to Gerard’s head “You will find a lot of your memory to be missing. You were struck with a short range ray… Not enough to kill you thankfully, but just enough to scramble your memory for a while… I’m afraid your… father? Didn’t have the same luck”

He crossed his arms and uncrossed them, running both hands through his hair violently, feeling the soft hairless spot where he was probably hit “He’s just…” He shook his head again “He was my ride”

News sighed, reaching over to pet Gerard’s head in a comforting manner as Dr. D wrote down ‘The Doctor’ and the date they met. He wrote the same date on the other end of the line. The paper was filled with names and dates, some had two dates and some only had one. He closed it then opened again “What’s your name kid?”

“It’s Ge-“

“Not your real name. You should know we don’t use those. Too dangerous” D cut him off quickly, taking his sunglasses off “Your name”

“I don’t have one” He said, poking at hole on the t-shirt he had on.

“Then come up with one” News said, sliding out of the room “Dinner will be ready before dark. D he needs a jacket and a gun. Take him out or a run. Red line. We don’t have a time machine”

“What?” he frowned, rubbing his face.

“You heard. Get up. You are driving. And think of a name” D said, leaving the room. Gerard followed close behind.

He was so fucked.

 

 

Meanwhile, The Doctor woke up with the sound of a familiar voice and to the familiar smell of the TARDIS.

“Hello Doctor” The American accent said. He got up quickly, looking around “Gerard! I’m so glad you are okay!” He said quickly hugging the man before pulling back as if he had been burnt by the touch “Jack. You are not Gerard. What are you doing here and where is Gerard? Gerard. 17? Black hair and black clothes, hazel eyes, swears a bit too much for my liking. 41st century? He was with me in the car until…”

“Doctor… I found you passed out in the middle of downtown L.A during a bombing in the middle of an attack… You were alone”

“But… I promised him I would take him home” He frowned, leaning against the console “Are you sure? Run a scan! Call your friends! I need to find him! He’s a kid and he’s not from around here! He’s from the planetary generation!” He yelled, starting to press buttons and flip switches on the console “He’s a little kid, Jack” 

Jack shook his head “If he’s still alive… He’s either in Battery City or going to die without a gas mask out in this war… I’m sorry Doctor”

“I’m going to find him dead or alive” He snapped, pointing a finger at Jack “Because he is alive. And depending on me”

“He might be out in the desert… If he was caught by Killjoys” He said carefully, stepping up to one of the keyboards and quickly started typing away “You have to update the map. The California map was updated a few weeks ago. Battery City and the zones around it”

The colorful map was now visible on all of the TARDIS screens, the six zones in full colors while the center, Battery City was of a dull gray “If he is with Killjoys, there is a chance he’s still alive- What are you doing with a 17 year old kid from the 41st century?” He looked at the Doctor, a malicious look on his face.

“I was in the woods and found him. He shouldn’t be there so we were going to 1999 to find out how he was there but we ended up 13 years later. What are you doing in the middle of this mess?”

“I missed my flight and now I’m stuck here until the whole thing is over” He sighed, looking down at his hands “Let’s go scan the area for your 41st century boy” He half smirked, winking at the Doctor “By the way, this new regeneration… You’re old”

“Stop it”


	3. Shiny means sexy

The TARDIS came to a loud stop somewhere in zone 6, the one farthest away from Battery City according to Jack’s map.

“I’m surprised the TARDIS didn’t try to get rid of you” He said, checking the area for signs of Gerard, sighing and shaking his head as the radiation interfered in the readings.

“That’s not going to work. We have to do this Killjoy style Doctor, we are in their territory now… The radiation messes up with our technology” He sighed, getting a mask from inside his coat and checking the Vortex Manipulator “Sand storm today. You have a car?”

 

 

“Party Poison!” He heard someone yelling, the familiar voice of Dr. Death Defying filling his ears “Boy, you oughta go on a run before that sand storm hits unless you want to starve to death”

“Get some batteries!” He heard another yell coming from somewhere in the diner, making him roll his eyes and sigh, running a hand through his recently dyed red hair.

He walked out of the bedroom, putting his jacket on and slicking his hair back “Why am I always the one to do the runs when there’s a mad ass sand storm coming for us” He sighed, rolling his eyes as he grabbed the car keys and the mousekat head “Is any of you gentleman joining me?”

“Hell no!” He heard all the guys yell, rolling his eyes and getting to the door.

“Careful boy” D said, walking out of his office “Dracs are all out in zone 5 and you know how they love you. Also a storm is coming so be as quick as you can. Don’t drift off. Keep an eye out for anything that could help Kobra”

“Yes D” He said softly, getting the mask on and chuckling “Stay shiny Doctor D”

“Poison” He held the red-haired man’s hand before he could open the door, forcing the red head to look at him “I’m serious… Be careful out there. If you see Gogo…”

“Gogo’s alive. Might be baking a cake right now with some shiny new droids trying to remember how to rollerblade his way back home” He lifted he mousekat head just enough so D could see him blow a kiss and left before the man could say anything else, getting in the car and driving off as fast as he could, the radio on playing Mad Gear and the Missile Kid, shutting off the sounds of the engine.

He stopped at the Dead Pegasus, getting out of the car and going straight to the vending machines there, white and lifeless, inserting Fun Ghoul’s invention in the money slot, getting out the batteries, cans of power pup, as many bottles of water as the machine would allow and loaded the car, never taking the mousekat head off.

He filled the tank with gasoline and a few extra gallons before sitting on the hood of the car and taking the head off. He pulled out the pack of cigarettes he had on him, one of the many he found in an abandoned supermarket a while ago, and lit it, shaking his head as he took a drag.

This was different. The cigarettes weren’t anything like the ones he was used to smoking back then… Back home. Where he should be.

He shook his head, watching as the smoke got carried away by the wind that was starting to pick up, meaning he probably had a few minutes before he absolutely had to get in the car and go back to the diner.

Moments like this made him miss the guy he only knew for a day.

He finished smoking and got his mask back on, getting in the car and driving off, the music quieter this time as he would rather spend the drive back trying to keep the memories he had of home alive than anything else.

Mostly memories of Lindsey.

He was driving at full speed, the car screeching and making noises almost as if it was begging him to go slower. That’s when he saw the box.

The TARDIS was just there, parked in the middle of nowhere near a cacti, the light on top on and the blue painting intact. Even though his head was messed up for most of the time, he could never forget the TARDIS, or the Doctor, because one was his way back home and the other was someone he was pretty mad at.

Poison quickly hit the brakes and got out of the car, his bright yellow gun in hand as he carefully approached the doors of the TARDIS, pushing one of them open and looking inside, hoping to see what wasn’t there.

He stepped inside the control room and walked around it, the place looking exactly like he remembered, with all the monitors and buttons and switches and even his phone still in the same spot he left it there, seven years ago.

“Alright… Hands where I can see them and nobody gets shot here” A voice came from behind him, making him spin around as fast as he could and point the gun at the man standing there.

“Hello, soldier” Poison said with a smirk, eyeing the man up and down and stopping at the gun he was holding “Nice blaster”

“What’re you doing in here?” The man asked doing the same as Poison did earlier, stopping at the mousekat head now lying on the floor.

“I gotta ask you the same, soldier” He removed one of his hands from the gun, running it through his hair, some of the dye getting all over his already dye-stained hand.

“Captain Jack Harkness” The man said, putting down his gun and holding his hand out for Poison to shake.

“Party Poison” He said, copying the other and shaking his hand “Which zone are you from, Cap? The weather is about to go all costa rica and unless we get going, we’ll be dust”

“I’m from downtown” He said, taking a step closer to Poison “Nice hair”

“Nice eyes”

“Nice lips”

“I bet you wanna kiss them, don’t you shiny boy?” Poison smirked, taking a step back “And don’t think I’m stupid, there’s no such thing as downtown anymore”

Poison walked around the console, taking in the way the things were shining, still looking exactly the same as he remembered.

He got the five credits he left there all those years ago, putting the card in his pocket and carefully touched his phone, still with a nice charge, no new notifications… Nothing. Even the date hadn’t changed.

It hadn’t been years inside the TARDIS, just hours.

“We’re between zones 5 and 6 right now, about five miles away from Route Guano and… Half a mile from the closes Dead Pegasus” He said, placing his gun in the holster and stepping down from the console “Want a ride, tumbleweed?”

“I found it Captain!” A voice echoed from down one of the TARDIS halls, making Poison stop dead on his tracks and grab his gun, pointing at its direction.

Poison watched as the Doctor stepped into his view, holding an old radio in his hands.

The Doctor stopped once he saw Jack had drawn his gun. He followed the man’s aim, noticing the man with bright red hair pointing a bright yellow ray gun at him

“Who’s this?” He looked Poison up and down, confusion and calm on his face.

“Party Poison” He said quickly, putting his gun back in the holster and turning to Jack, shaking his head “Apparently you are not a tumbleweed, shiny boy. Bummer, I bet we could do some time travel shit together down at the hyper-thrust” He said, shaking his head and opening the door to leave, being stopped by the view of the sandstorm already full blown happening outside.

He rolled his eyes, taking a step back and closing the door “Looks like we are stuck here for a while”

“We could do what?” Jack asked confused, looking between Poison and the Doctor, waiting for someone to explain.

“It’s one of the many slangs Killjoys had for sex” The Doctor said, rolling his eyes and stepping up to Poison “Boy, what’re you doing in my TARDIS?”

Party Poison turned to the Doctor, looking him in the eyes for a few seconds before taking a step back towards Jack, shaking his head and giving the man a shrug. He couldn’t be that different that the Doctor didn’t recognize him.

“I needed a place to hide from the storm” He lied “Thought this was just a box out in the middle of nowhere”

The Doctor nodded, already ignoring the man’s words and turning back to the radio he was carrying “I can get in the radio transmission and send a message out to him, if he hears it he’ll know it’s from us. If someone’s with him and knows him, he’ll still get it! I’m brilliant!”

Jack nodded, still looking at Poison, arms crossed as if analyzing a possible threat “Doctor, you’re just gonna let him stay in here? Can I at least handcuff him? I don’t trust Killjoys”

The Doctor looked up and shook his head, placing the radio on the console and started plugging stuff in “Nonsense. I’m sure they are good people”

“You monitoring s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w/s, shiny boy? I’m a Killjoy, not BLI scum so watch it and don’t be 90s enough to cuff me ‘cause I aim for the soul” Poison said, sitting on the leather couch downstairs, looking at his backpack still on the floor by it.

He stopped to think about how long it had been for the Doctor. He wanted to know how he survived, he wanted to know why he took seven years with a motherfucking time machine and why he didn’t recognize him. He was at least half the weight he was when he met the Doctor, yes. He also had bright red hair now instead of the classic black. His face was probably dirty and he figured that final wave of puberty when he was 19 must have changed his face a lot.

He hoped, at least.

“I have no idea what you just—“

“He said ‘do you work for Better Living, sexy boy? I’m a killjoy not BLI scum so watch it and don’t be dumb enough to cuff me because I kill mercilessly’ or something like that” The Doctor said in a monotone, stepping back excited as he caught a transmission “Yes!”

 “ _Alright kids, time to get yo’ asses into bed while the sun goes dry… motorbabies will dream of the day they get their first gun and crashqueens will think of the wind in their hair. Don’t go outside ‘less you are looking for some peeling treatment. For all you tumbleweeds out and about, careful with those flies. Have a great afternoon and be alive in the morning for another radiation bath. Now here comes Destroya”_

As soon as the transmission ended a song started playing, making Poison grin and lean back on the couch.

“I love this song…” He mumbled to himself, closing his eyes.

“You! Strawberry shortcake!” The Doctor called out as if something had just clicked inside his head.

He made his way down the stairs, stopping in front of Party Poison, towering over him “Have you seen or heard about a boy? 17? Black hair? His name is Gerard, I was taking him on a trip but ended up losing him somewhere a few hours ago…”

“Oh yeah” He nodded, biting his bottom lip “I have. He was ghosted. Sorry dude”

The Doctor stopped, looking over at Jack and frowning “How… Do you know? And what happened?”

“He got into a clap with a couple exterminators and a dozen dracs in zone 5 a while ago. People said he was tipped off by some s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w/s… It was plastic, man. I heard the burning smell was unbearable”   

“What years is this?” Jack stepped in, placing a hand on the Doctor’s shoulder, trying to comfort him.

“2019”

The Doctor nodded slowly, placing the radio on the floor and making his way up the stairs “I need to practice. I want you two out of the TARDIS as soon as this storm ends”

 

 

Twenty minutes had passed but for Poison and Jack it seemed like an eternity, the awkward silence in the control room making both of them shift uncomfortably every so often.

Poison was sitting on the couch, smoking one of his old (or would it be future?) cigarettes. His free hand holding his old journal, carefully running his shaky fingers on the cover and the sides of it.

“Funny thing…” Jack said, sitting down next to Poison, glancing at the journal the other was playing with “Hazel eyes are present in 8% of the world population… With the number of recent deaths, it’s interesting that you have hazel eyes… Such a coincidence the man the Doctor is looking for just happened to have the same eye color and you just happened to know how he died”

Poison looked at him, leaning over with a sarcastic grin “Small world, Captain” He sighed, playing with the other’s coat “Fucking shiny… fucking sunny coat… Who’d you kill for this?”

Jack sighed, shaking his head “Cut the act”

“It took him seven years” He said, getting up and leaving the journal on the couch as he ran his free hand through his hair, his back turned to Jack as he took a long drag off the cigarette before talking again “He didn’t even recognize me. But it’s okay, we didn’t spend much time together anyway”

“2012 was a few hours ago for us, Ger--”

“Party Poison” He cut him off, turning around and looking at the man, a mix of emotions in his eyes “Those motherfucking s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w/s are everywhere, Captain… They could be hearing us, right now. Don’t say my real name”

“You’re a crashqueen huh? That’s why you were out in the desert right before a sand storm? The term was starting to get used back in 2011…”

“I’m not a crashqueen” He rolled his eyes “I was just getting supplies from the Dead Pegasus alright? My friend is sick and he needs food and water and if I could find some old medication that’d’ve been a great run… I got five credits now though… buy Kid some magical pill and bam! He should be cured in… Minutes. Fully recovered in hours”

“The storm must be almost over right now” Jack said, standing up and placing a hand on the younger man’s shoulder, noticing how pale he was getting “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine”

Poison pushed the older man’s hand away, glancing over at the monitor, the sand storm still happening outside. He took a few steps away from him, taking another drag off the cigarette, closing his eyes with a frown as his vision started to get blurry.

“Party Poison…” Jack reached over again, catching him just in time as he fell.

He let his whole weight be carried by Jack for a few moments as he gasped for air, gripping tight to his arms as he forced himself back upright.

 “Fuck…”

“I got you…” Harkness said, helping him back to the couch and sitting with him “I don’t need to be a doctor to know you need food and water”

“Water would be nice…” He agreed, his vision slowly coming back into full focus “Fuck Cap, thanks for saving my ass”

Jack chuckled, getting up and going to get a glass of water

“So…” He started casually “Dracs? Crows? Exterminators? BLI? What happened this past seven years?” He walked back to Poison with the glass, watching as he took it in with both hands, sipping carefully.

“Helium wars, pig wars…” He thought for a moment “Oh yeah, then the s/c/a/r/e/c/r/o/w/s started popping up everywhere… They are not actually scarecrows, we just call them that because they scare the shit out of us and they don’t even move… Those blue… eyes? Maybe monitors I don’t know… They are almost everywhere… Always watching… Either them or their fucking flies… You know, I told the Doctor we shouldn’t have left the TARDIS that day…” He licked his lips, looking down at the water in his hands “I should have followed my gut”

“He never listens” Jack chuckled, watching the young man finish the water and lean back on the couch.

He noticed the way the man carried himself, soft and graceful but always alert, almost like a woman walking alone at night, ready to do anything to survive.

He also noticed the markings on his skin, mostly burn scars and a rash on his wrist, everything so visible against his slightly tanned skin.

 “When are you from?” Poison asked once the silence started to become awkward again.

“51st century” He smiled, looking down at his hands then back up at Poison “Boeshane peninsula”

“41st” Poison chuckled “Good old Earth… Born and raised.”

“Must have been a shock to you suddenly be stuck here huh? Technology you never saw before, words you never heard, concepts you weren’t familiar with… I know… I’ve been through that”

He nodded slowly, looking at Jack with a half smile “Don’t be so charming and understanding, Captain Jack Harkness” He pronounced the other’s name slowly, a slight malice in his eyes “That makes you even shinier”

The Doctor came into the room then, running at full speed up to the two of them “Captain, Party Poison… Gerard’s alive! I found footage from when we were attacked… He was taken away in a van… If we find the men we can find him!”

“Except he’s dead” Poison said quickly, standing up.

“People are never as dead as they seem, _Party Poison_ ” The Doctor said, starting the TARDIS “I’ll get your car and we can go”

The red head held tight to the railing and gasped in surprise as the trans am started materializing inside the TARDIS just as it started to shake in the weirdly familiar way.

“Nice car” Jack said with a grin, bumping into Poison’s shoulder “Crashqueen”

 

 

The TARDIS stopped just outside the Diner, the wooshing sound being dulled out by the sound of the winds and the sand grains against the materializing box shape.

“C’mon!” The Doctor grinned “The TARDIS force field will protect all the way up to the door”

He opened the TARDIS door, peering outside at the door just a few feet away from them “Five steps”

Poison rolled his eyes, getting the mousekat helmet and his journal, quickly hiding the later in his pocket as he walked up to the Diner door with the other two men.

 “Poison?” He heard Ghoul’s voice coming into the room, a smile on the man’s face “Shit dude, you scared the crap out of me” He chuckled, walking over to him and watching as let the helmet down on the table closest to the front door.

“As soon as the storm is over we gotta send Jet on a medicine run… I got five credits” He said walking up to the bar, jumping behind the counter and starting to fix himself a drink “We also have visit” He glanced at the door where Jack and the Doctor were still standing.

“Fucking Party Poison” Ghoul rolled his eyes and started to the back door, shaking his head “D left before the storm started, said he wanted to be at the station in case Gogo showed up. Offer the men a drink, Poison.”

“He just left you and Jet with Kobra like that?” He raised an eyebrow, holding his glass out to the Doctor and Jack, receiving no as an answer from both of them.

He sighed and made his way to the back after Ghoul, leaving the Doctor and Jack standing by the door, confused and curiously looking around the dirty Diner, taking in every detail that made it look like a creepy mix between an old woman’s house and an abandoned 50s Diner.

“You do know Party Poison is the man you are looking for, right?” Jack whispered to the Doctor, going over to sit at the bar, glancing back at him once he was settled.

“Oh... That explains why he looked so familiar”

 


End file.
